“Luna?” I turned, my heart racing at the sight of Mateo in the kitchen doorway wearing only a pair of sweatpants low on his hips. “What are you doing?”
“Setting up my surprise,” I told him, glancing back at the cereals. It was a small thing, I just hoped he liked them.
“Cereals?” he asked, frowning as he padded over to me. He didn’t hesitate in wrapping his arms around me, and those butterflies that were always there when Mateo was around took flight. “Is this for Cardo, or you?”
I chuckled. “Both of us?” I shrugged.
“He’s gonna love it.” He pressed a kiss to the side of my jaw, trailing down my neck and to my collarbone. “Do you think?”
“I know,” he murmured, kissing under my ear then pulling back to look at my face.
“I hope so—”
“The birthday boy is awake!” Cardo shouted from upstairs. “Chiara, come on, wake up!” Footsteps banged over us as he ran into Chiara’s room.
“I’m sleeping!” Chiara shouted back.
“No time for sleeping, little sister.” We both listened intently, grins spreading over our faces. “Let’s go, I’m eight now, you have to listen to me.”
I couldn’t hear what she said back, but a few seconds later, two sets of footsteps echoed down the stairs, and then they appeared. Cardo already bouncing off the walls, but Chiara was still half asleep.
“Happy birthday!” I shouted, pulling out of Mateo’s hold. Any other time I would have stayed between his arms for as long as possible, but today was about Cardo. It was about making sure he had the best birthday.
He gasped as I moved to the side. “Is that cereals?” He ran toward me but veered to the left to see them all. He climbed on one of the breakfast bar stools, staring at them with wide eyes. “There’s so many.”
“You did say you wanted to watch cartoons and eat cereal to celebrate.” I shrugged, remembering one of the first conversations I’d had with him. I never would have guessed that we’d be here now though. So much had changed since I’d first met Cardo, and even though some of it was bad, I couldn’t deny how happy I was surrounded by the kids and Mateo.
“Can we eat it all day?” Cardo asked.
I turned to face Mateo, nearly melting at the sight of him hold Chiara, her head on his chest, her sleepy eyes begging to close again. “Can we?” I asked him.
His lips lifted into a small smile. “It’s up to you, darlin’.” He placed a kiss on my lips. “You decide.”
My heart hammered in my chest at his words. He was telling me more than just what he’d spoken, and the way his eyes twinkled at me, he knew what he was doing. He was giving me power in our relationship, securing my place within the family.
“Yes,” I said, turning around to face Cardo. “All. Day. Long.”
His eyes widened, his mouth fully open in shock. It only took him two seconds to snap out of it though and grab as many cereal boxes as he could. “Let’s go!” He ran out of the kitchen and I scooped up the rest of the cereal boxes as Mateo got the bowls and milk, balancing all of it while still holding Chiara expertly against his chest. She’d woken up fully now though, so was watching us with eager eyes.
“Can I eat cereals all day too?” she asked, her sweet voice melting my heart.
“Of course you can.” I winked at her. “This is gonna be the best day ever.”
“No way!” Cardo shouted from the living room. Crashing boxes echoed toward us, and two seconds later he reappeared in the hallway, whizzing toward us on his new bike. “You got me a bike!”
His excitement may have been too much for anyone else to handle, but we all knew the significance of today. It was the first birthday in this house. The first birthday where we were all free from our parents. The first birthday we could celebrate in the way we’d always wanted to.
He peddled around the kitchen, knocking one of the chairs at the dining table over, but that didn’t stop him riding as fast as he could out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the front door.
“This is the best birthday, ever!” He fist bumped the air as his front tire hit the door, his laughter filling the house. “Chiara, come look at my bike.”
She wiggled out of Mateo’s hold, and he placed her on the floor. Her little feet pitter pattered down the hallway, her excitement mixing with Cardo’s.
“I think we did good,” Mateo said, coming to stand next to me. All of the cereal supplies were still in our arms, the grins on our faces showing how happy we both were.
I turned to face him, feeling
the dip in my stomach at the sight of his side profile. I didn’t think he knew how amazing he was. He was the glue that held us altogether, and I knew we would never be able to survive without him.